London -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When I was driving through Poland last year , all the talk was about a Chinese company 's failure to complete a major motorway project . The contract was wrestled away from the Chinese and the Poles finished it themselves .

The details , denials and counter-claims are n't important for this article ; far more interesting is the impact of any China-led project in Europe . Any news on such projects -- good or bad -- makes headlines . But the splash is bigger when such projects fail or when people starting mumbling about Chinese influence .

What China does in Europe matters greatly , though rarely do I hear or read a positive story about China 's influence .

When a Chinese company bought Volvo , it was the transfer of technology that made the headlines , along with the end of the era for a venerable European brand . When an Indian company bought Land Rover and Jaguar , Tata was hailed as the savior of two venerable European brands .

Why is that ?

The answer appears clear . We are equally fascinated and frightened by the rise of China 's economic and military prowess .

The Chinese government 's recent trip to central Europe revealed that the hiccup in Poland has not slowed China 's plan to invest heavily in the former communist states . A $ 10 billion credit line will be used for infrastructure projects in Poland , Hungary and other countries . It was reported that the leaders of 16 central European countries met with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao while in Poland .

China 's tech giant Huawei is a growing power in the telecoms world . But any attempt it makes to expand in Europe , United States or Africa is met with fears of technology transfer to a firm linked to the Chinese military through its founder . Rightly so , governments fret over a `` foreign '' firm controlling the hardware that is the backbone of modern society . In Huawei 's case , as the Economist recently pointed out in a front cover story , the fear is China illegally tapping into western communications , both government and private .

Of course Huawei will say it 's a private company with no state control and simply wants to compete on a level playing field with the likes of Nokia-Siemens , Cisco and Ericsson .

A change of leadership in Beijing will not have much impact in Europe . There is no reason to believe big changes will come from the top .

Instead , change appears to be coming from the bottom . Rising wages and increased worker benefits might raise the prices of goods exported to Europe .

It also helps to expand China 's middle class which appears to love European and American products .

I recall growing up in America with worries about the rising power of Japan . All the products we desired were designed there or manufactured there , from video games players to VCRs and automobiles to the Walkman . With the wealth created , the Japanese were buying up property in California and buildings in New York .

It was feared the rise of Japan 's economic prowess would never abate . But it did .

Europe ca n't assume the same will happen with China . But the economies now are so interlinked that stingy European consumers quickly translates into weaker manufacturing output in China . That slowdown is dissected by European economists and , on any given day , it can cause stocks to fall , leading to the similar stock tumbles a few hours later on Wall Street .

Recently Burberry noted a slowdown in sales in Asia , particularly in China -- its shares promptly fell 20 % . Perhaps it was an overreaction , but it shows investors are quite happy to plow money into companies with `` an Asian strategy '' and then ignore it -- until there is a profit warning blamed on that same market .

That goes to show Europe has to get comfortable with the growing influence of China on its shores . It can not expect its companies to grow in the Chinese market , then be surprised when enriched Chinese companies come shopping for European companies to buy .

China needs to understand that it will take time for Europe to get comfortable with China 's investments . China has to make sure its investments and intentions are transparent . Oh , then there is that small matter of reciprocity .

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CNN 's Jim Boulden writes he hardly hears positive stories about China 's influence in Europe

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Europe 's and China 's economies are intertwined

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A change of leadership in Beijing will not have much impact in Europe